Fire in the Vöcklabruck retirement home: Four injured by flue gas!

Fire in the Vöcklabruck retirement home: Four injured by flue gas!

Vöcklabruck, Österreich - On May 22, 2025, a fire occurred at 6:15 p.m. on the first floor of a retirement home in Vöcklabruck, Upper Austria. The cause of the fire is previously unknown. According to the fire brigade, the residents of the affected living area were brought to safety by the nursing staff and the emergency services and medically initiated. At 6:45 p.m., the operations management of the fire department Vöcklabruck reported the end of the fire. As a result of the incident, four people suffered slight flue gas poisoning and were brought to the Salzkammergut Clinic Vöcklabruck.

The fire brigades Vöcklabruck and Regau were on site with a line -up of eight vehicles and 44 emergency services. The affected living area is temporarily not habitable, which is why the people concerned were accommodated in other rooms to ensure their security. The events illustrate the need for adequate fire protection in care facilities.

fire protection in care facilities

The relevance of fire protection in care facilities is not only shown in this incident. In 2022, a total of 176 fires in social institutions were counted in Germany, with 295 injuries and 17 fatalities to be complained about. In January 2023 there were also 21 fires that resulted in 38 injuries and 7 fatalities. A large part of these fires affects old people's and nursing homes in which over 700,000 people live. A central problem is that there are no standardized fire protection regulations for these facilities that are considered unregulated special buildings without special requirements.

The challenges in fire protection are diverse. Residents in nursing homes are often physically and mentally restricted, which complicated evacuation in an emergency. Important fire protection measures include the rapid evacuation by the staff and the use of fire and smoke protection doors. The most common causes of fire in retirement homes include defective electrical appliances as well as negligence such as smoking or using candles. Further dangers are smoking near oxygen devices and defective heating ceilings.

prevention approaches and measures

In order to increase the safety of the residents, various prevention approaches are required. These include bans and the ban on candlelight. Construction fire protection measures should include non -combustible building materials, fire -monitored areas and sufficient escape routes. Technically, attention should be paid to effective fire alarm systems and hand -fire extinguishers. It is also recommended that at least 5% of the staff are trained as fire protection helpers and regular fire protection exercises are carried out, which should include the simulation of evacuations.

The events in Vöcklabruck are a tragic example of the risks that exist in care facilities. It is crucial that both employees and the residents are sensitized to deal with fire and electrical appliances in order to avoid dangerous situations in the future. For comprehensive fire protection, the close cooperation between employees and premises is essential in order to be able to react quickly and effectively in an emergency.

On the causes of fire and the necessary fire protection in this sensitive environment reports The fire protection information portal , while the details of the incident in Vöcklabruck under Fire World href = "https://ooe.orf.at/stories/3306592/"> ORF OÖ also reported.